Viewing profile — laurieg

Remote: Yes (my current time zone is UTC+9) Willing to relocate: Yes (currently based in Fukuoka, Japan with full permission to work) Technologies: Javascript/Typescript, Svelte, S…

Study a reasonable amount. Make good flashcards[1] and incorporate memorization into your routine. Try things out. Literally anything. Sports, music, arts, tech. It is so much easi…

Remote: Yes (my current time zone is UTC+9) Willing to relocate: Yes (currently based in Fukuoka, Japan with full permission to work. British passport holder) Technologies: Javascr…

This kind of comment could be written about almost anything and is fundamentally un-interesting. You chose to write "weirdo" instead of "screwball" or "bozo" and probably think the…

That sounds like a the ear training I have done but even after a couple of decades I don't have any real ability to tell the difference between intervals. For example, I listen to …

I wonder if there's a bit of survivorship bias with this one. I've never been able to learn relative pitch after trying quite a lot of different methods, ear training app and playi…

Here's how I was taught verb conjugation. First, we learnt verbs in the -masu form. Nomimasu, tabemasu and so on. Then we learnt this song (to the tune of Clementine) chi ri i tte …

According to amnesty international [0] you'd be put in solitary confinement and restrained with your hands handcuffed to a belt. From the report "Handcuffs are not removed at any t…

Japan is importing record numbers of workers. Most convenience stores and supermarkets in my town (far from Tokyo) are staffed by 'language school students' (an you can work 28 hou…

Relatively small clerical errors causing people to get permanent residency applications denied is becoming a trope. The ones I have heard: - Client company address changed 4 years …

We had an interview scheduled at the start of February which you cancelled with 30 minutes notice stating you had filled the position. Since then, the position has been posted onli…

We had an interview scheduled at the start of February which you cancelled with 30 minutes notice stating you had filled the position. Since then, the position has been posted onli…

I saw a casual lecture given by Tony Hoare as a teenager. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, even if I didn't fully understand all of the content. I remember he was very kind a…

I make a new card in a folder called People whenever I meet someone. Then I add information like email address, phone number, connections to other people when relevant. I find enga…

I use the Tracker plugin [1] to make charts of things like running distances etc. For maps, I have a folder called Places and each markdown file in there is a place. I add latitude…

Imposter syndrome is a thinking trap. A couple of things you can do to help: Try to separate out 'ruminating' from 'thinking'. What's the difference? For our purposes 'thinking' ha…

People who do lots of work and ship lots of projects tend to have a certain level of mess in their workshops. Creation is repeated cycles of trial, play, reflection and tidying. Fo…

I like the message but I think it's worth tempering people's expectations. I spent years working with a few different voice teachers and the amount of practice and dedication you n…

I started using obsidian about a year ago and I have found it to be an invaluable tool. The key is using it to solve problems you actually have, rather than problems you want to ha…

For someone who hasn't grown up speaking an language with tones or pitches, the process of learning them can be maddening. I applaud anyone who makes tools like this to try to make…

The positive version of this is clocks in escape rooms. You set the countdown timer to be slightly faster for the first 45 minutes and slightly slower for the last 10, so that peop…

Have you done any work on trying to make the opposite? Injecting English words into Japanese text to make it easier to read? I find that students of Japanese often have enough gram…

Cycling in Japan is really interesting. The rules say cycle on the road, following traffic rules, helmets are compulsory. The average cyclist doesn't wear a helmet, cycles on the p…

> 11. the anxiety goes away It is genuinely shocking how true this is. Also, it's not a gradual thing. I used to be very nervous about public speaking. I did it a lot and one day i…